At lunchtime
The brutal training had come to an end but nobody could materialize their magic without magic circles, like Mackenzie had done. They hadn't eaten in the morning and had collapsed due to the weakness they felt in their bones. At the time, Mackenzie had already dispelled her dog and was already heading inside to eat.
"Well, at least you all didn't slack off" Dante said "Let's go eat"
The others groggily got up from the ground and headed inside where they sat at the dinning table. Although most didn't want to point it out, there were clearly two empty seats at the table.
'I was hoping they'd be back by lunch' Dante thought as he glanced at Mackenzie who looked like she was one step away from crying her eyes out
The maids began to serve the food and when they were done, they stood to the side. The others began to silently eat their meals, making the maids uncomfortable in the room.
Mackenzie wasn't bright and active, neither was she dropping everything she didn't like on Rosco's plate. Nathan was even more silent than usual. Timothy wasn't yelling at a certain someone to watch her manners at the table. And the others looked like they had been drenched in dirty water.
"I wonder what happened" one of the maids whispered to another
"They were so lively yesterday" the other whispered back
"Have any of you seen Sloane and Priya?" Nathan asked in a cold voice which made them shiver. Nathan looked up from his plate and stared at each of them as though he was burning right through them.
"Th-this maid saw Miss Priya heading to Princess Rielle's lab" one of the maids spoke up "But she never came back out"
"This maid actually saw and spoke to Lady Sloane" another said "She said she'll be spending time in the library and eating there from henceforth. I moved her morning meal to the library today but it was never touched. This afternoon, I went to pick up the meal and drop a new one but the plates were empty and she even left a letter" the maid then remembered something and reached into her dress pocket before bringing out a letter "The letter was addressed to Lady Mackenzie. It was written on the back of the letter that I wasn't to give it to anyone else or even open it"
Mackenzie's eyes brightened when she heard the letter was for her and she began to reach for it
"Letter. Give it me, please" Mackenzie said and the maid gave the letter to her "Thank you" she smiled before putting it in her pocket
"Aren't you gonna read it?" Jerald asked impatiently
"It's from my mum to me. Get your own mother to write you a letter" Mackenzie said with a frown as she got out of her seat and left the dinning room
"None of you were able to go up a single level today" Dante said changing the topic but then he heard a clanking sound and when he looked up, he noticed Nathan and Allen were already gone "It's good to have a bit of rivalry"
******
Beginning And End Library
Sloane and Priya had also finished their meals and had gone back to training. It looked more like they were doing several dance moves at a very fast pace.
'To think I'm actually able to keep up with her' Priya thought 'Just this morning, she was stretching me like string and using a book on Hell Dance's techniques to teach both herself and me. We continued in that pattern until this afternoon' she took a glace at Sloane 'First, a side step, then, a half turn, sweep kick and axe kick. That's the basics we've been learning and it makes up the first style in Hell Dance. The more we do it, the more fluent it becomes and the more it looks like dancing'
And after the last side step, they stopped. Both were sweating but only Priya was panting as her knees met the floor.
"You're a fast learner" Sloane said as she sat on the floor next to her
"You too" Priya agreed "You don't even remember how to do it but your body knows. And you only knew a few steps but didn't know how to mix them together and form a style"
Sloane went silent as she stared at her hands "I feel like I'm grasping on to something. Like the stronger my body gets, the weaker the backlash from using magic"
"Hey, do you think it was right to give Mackenzie a book from here?" Priya asked trying to change the conversation
"I think it's fine" Sloane said "She's always been the type to watch and practice....or in this case, read and practice. Plus, we also learnt that there's more than one way to access the outside world with your key. We don't have to worry about getting caught now"
"Speaking of that, the food will get cold" Priya said as she got right up and headed to the table nearest to them. Sloane did the same and they both sat and ate merrily.
After lunch, Priya took out the library key and pointed it at an open space. A lock appeared and as she twisted the key, there was a click sound and a door opened.
"I'll be right back" Priya said as she carried the tray of empty plates and walked through the door. The door shut behind her and locked.
"Now then, I wonder if there's a weapon style to Hell Dance" Sloane murmured as she got up from her seat and walked towards the pillar with a hand mould.
She placed her hand inside the mould but before it could light up, a book fell from the shelf adjacent her. "What just happened?" she mumbled before moving to pick up the book.
It was the first book she had seen without a title in the library. She opened the book and it flipped through every page before five pages tore themselves out from the book and the pages began to disappear, leaving only the words hanging in black ink.
The book fell out of Sloane's hands and the words hanging in the air had gone towards her body. A page's worth of writing, wrapped around five parts of her body. One to her head, one to each of her arms and one to each of her legs. The writings appeared boldly on each part and after she passed out, it disappeared like nothing happened.
******
Some minutes later, a door opened next to the table where Sloane once sat and a tray of food was dropped on the table as Priya walked through with the key between her lips. The door shut and locked behind her.
"Sloane, where are...." her voice trailed off as she noticed Sloane on the floor next to a shelf. She immediately ran to Sloane's side "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked as she shook Sloane's body 'This whole time, she hasn't used magic. She's not supposed to use it. Did her condition worsen? Or is it due to the insomnia?' she wondered until she noticed the book with no title.
As soon as Priya reached for the book, it opened by itself and flipped through all of its pages once again before ripping out another five pages and shutting. The five pages disappeared and all that was left were the writings of each page, floating in the air.
"What is this?" Priya murmured as the words rushed towards her and wrapped around her head, legs and arms, just like it had done with Sloane "Ah" was the last sound she let out.
Her vision began to fade until she finally fainted and the words disappeared. Soon after, the book once again opened and flipped through all its pages before tearing each of its pages into pieces and turning into light particles before disappearing.
It continued like this until there was nothing but the cover left on the floor. Soon, the cover too, began to disappear and there was nothing left of the book with no title.
.....
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